When you think of Australian cuisine, Outback Steakhouse might be the first thing that springs to mind. While there’s nothing wrong with Outback (because bloomin’ onion!), there’s so much more to the Australian dining story. Food culture in Australia is on fire right now, becoming ever more sophisticated, innovative, distinctive and diverse and rightly claiming its place among the greats on the stage of international culinary destinations.

And like its food, dining Down Under has its own distinct flavor and might be different than what you’re used to back home. To get a fair dinkum Aussie restaurant experience, we recommend you come prepared. We spoke to some of the country’s most prestigious restaurateurs for the inside dish on Australian restaurant etiquette.

Sharing dishes is a massive trend.

Asian, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, Latin American, native — you name the cuisine and an Australian restaurant will find a way to break it down into shared plates so that everyone can sample across the menu. “When we first opened Chin Chin in Melbourne in 2011, we were probably the leaders to do multiple-course sharing-style dinners in Australia, where everything is plonked down in the middle of the table to share,” says Ben James, group venue manager of The Lucas Group (which also owns Melbourne’s Baby and Kong). “Now everyone seems to be following suit. It’s pretty well commonplace now.”

Casual but neat attire is the baseline.

Australians are very laid-back by nature but don’t be fooled – we’re not slobs. “At Quay, we have a very strong policy on clothing,” says John Fink, creative director of The Fink Group (owners of much-lauded Sydney restaurants Quay, Bennelong, and Otto Ristorante). “If you turn up in tracky daks [i.e. sweatpants], a pair of thongs [flip flops], and a t-shirt, we’ll ask you to go back to your hotel room and get changed. At Bennelong, there isn’t a policy per se, but if someone turned up in an old pair of shorts and a singlet [tank top] we might say, ‘Aw, mate, do you mind?’”

Australian wait staff act more like your mate than your server.

“We’re quite informal,” says Timmeon Parlane, general manager of Cafe Sydney. “We’re always told by our American guests that they really enjoy our casualness and directness and the easy rapport. The relationship between our staff and the customer is much friendlier than in other countries — while we’re quite aware of who is paying the bill, it’s very egalitarian.”

Learn the Australian menu sequence: the entrée comes first, followed by the main course and dessert.

And, in Australia, a salad is served with the main course, not as an entrée. “This can be confusing for our American customers,” admits Parlane. “People often try to use the terminology that they use at home or expect things to be done the same way, and that can make it a bit difficult to get the communication flowing nicely.”

Tasting your wine before it’s poured is seen as kind of silly.

“Almost ninety percent of bottles from here are screw caps,” says Steve Scott, senior operations manager at the Seagrass Hospitality Group (owners of The Meat & Wine Co, Ribs & Burgers, Hunter & Barrel, and Butcher and the Farmer, all located in Sydney). “So it does seem a bit pretentious when you’re not doing the full cork service. Most Australians wave that part off, and say, ‘Just pour.’”

Alcohol serves are very precise.

When you order wine by the glass, you might be surprised when your server pours out an amount that, by U.S. standards at least, looks a bit stingy. “The standard pour is one-hundred and fifty milliliters, and that is a legality in Australia,” explains Steve Scott. “Anyone who works in hospitality here must take a course about the R.S.A. [responsible service of alcohol]; you can’t work in a restaurant unless you have that certificate. And if you serve your guests anything other than the standard pour, you’re legally obligated to tell them.” The drink driving laws are seriously stringent in Australia, too; you’ve been warned.

Now that brown spirits are white hot, there’s never been a better time to visit bourbon country. If you’re planning to embark on the Bourbon Trail, the nine distilleries that stretch through the rolling hills of Kentucky, Louisville makes a great home base. But the city is a draw on it’s own, with a few new craft distilleries worth a trip right in the city, including Peerless and brandy maker Copper & Kings, as well as smaller city outposts of big whiskey operations including Jim Beam and Heaven Hill inviting visitors in for a tour and a taste, with more under construction.

Of course, drinking all that bourbon means you definitely need to eat. Whether you’re traveling or reacquainting yourself with its food scene, here’s where to dine like a local in Louisville to really get a taste of the city, including farm-to-table spots serving locally-sourced produce, crave-worthy barbecue, and, of course, Southern staples like pimento cheese.

Seviche, A Latin Restaurant(Highlands)
Chef Anthony Lamas cooks up Latin American dishes with a Kentucky twang at this acclaimed restaurant in the Highlands, like a tostada made with pimento cheese, a Southern delight. A specialty is a variety of fish seviches [sic], like the Tuna Old Fashioned, with locally made Bluegrass Soy Sauce, bourbon, and pineapple. Don’t skip dessert — the “avocado” made from avocado ice cream, a bourbon truffle pit, and a hard chocolate shell is a winner. Make a reservation at Seviche, A Latin Restaurant.

Proof on Main(Downtown)
Located in the boutique 21c Museum Hotel, this restaurant is a hot spot pretty much all day, starting with the power breakfast in the morning through a hip bar scene at night. The menu emphasizes local produce and harder-to-find proteins like rabbit and bison. After, be sure to check out the rotating (and sometimes edgy) art exhibits on display in the hotel, which are free and open to the public 24 hours a day. Make a reservation at Proof on Main.

Lilly’s Bistro(Highlands)
A Louisville staple since opening in the late 1980s, chef Kathy Cary is an O.G. in the Kentucky farm-to-table movement, changing the menu every few weeks to show off locally sourced produce, meats, and cheeses. Hope that you’ll get lucky and get to try the pimento cheese wontons or the stellar chicken liver pate. The restaurant was one of the first to participate in the Urban Bourbon Trail program, meaning they feature more than 50 different kinds of bourbons behind the bar and incorporate whiskey into dishes and desserts, too. Make a reservation at Lilly’s Bistro.

Doc Crow’s Southern Smokehouse & Raw Bar(Downtown)
Two of the most crave-worthy foods are raw oysters and barbecue — and this sprawling downtown restaurant specializes in both. If you want to create a base layer for a night out, try the stuffed baked potato with cheddar, sour cream, and scallions, served with either pulled pork or brisket. Doc Crow’s does not sleep on their whiskey list either, with options from around the world but emphasize on bourbons, including hard-to-find varieties. Make a reservation at Doc Crow’s Southern Smokehouse & Raw Bar.

OpenTable is pleased to showcase the honorees in the MICHELIN Guide New York 2017. Seventy-seven restaurants are included, with six Big Apple restaurants receiving the Michelin three-star level, the highest recognition in the culinary world, including Le Bernardin, and 10 achieving two Michelin stars. Sixty-one restaurants earned one Michelin star.Nixand Ushiwakamaru, among others, are new to the list.

In anticipation of holiday travel, we’re thrilled to introduce our redesigned OpenTable Android app, enabling diners to more easily discover and book great dining experiences, from the hottest new restaurants to neighborhood gems.

The redesign features a new Discover home screen, which allows traveling and local diners to discover more with a single tap by connecting them to new dining experiences, ranging from trending cuisines and popular restaurants to curated option such as “OpenTable Insider Picks,” which allows you to dine like a local even when you’re in another city.

The content presented on the new Discover screen factors in elements like availability, popularity, proximity and personal favorites. It enables quick visual browsing of categories to get recommendations that will satisfy any taste. The recommendations are especially handy for local diners eager to explore something new and for travelers hoping to sink their teeth into amazing culinary experiences. New categories include:

New & Hot – Recently opened restaurants with high popularity scores

Most Popular – Restaurants with the highest popularity scores

My Favorites – Diner’s favorite restaurant list

Special Features – Restaurants perfect for every occasion ranging from romantic to kid-friendly

Near Me Now – Nearby restaurants with immediate availability

Dinner Tonight – Restaurants with availability that night

Editorial Picks – Restaurants nominated by local OpenTable Insiders and other industry experts.

Events

Caroline Potter

Caroline Potter is the Chief Dining Officer for OpenTable, Inc. She’s a dining trend-spotter and an OpenTable VIP, who dines out more than she eats in and has accrued more than 10,000 Dining Rewards points. Caroline started working in restaurants as a teen and she's since tackled every front-of-the-house job, from bartender and hostess to runner and server. She trained as a chef at Manhattan’s prestigious French Culinary Institute, cooking at L’Ecole. In addition to her role at OpenTable, she has written about food from farm to table for New York City’s famed Greenmarket and Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End magazines. Caroline is also a Certified Master Gardener.